Sunday Long Run: Why 'Time on Feet' Works

Running is full of variables and metrics; it’s easy to get lost chasing the shiny KPI.

That metric is weekly mileage. We put it on a pedestal because it’s so measurable. A common question between runners is asking “what’s your mileage at”. We wear it like a badge of pride. It’s even the first thing you see when opening Strava.

And there’s a reason for this. For a long time mileage is/was correlated with marathon finish time. Lower mileage = slower times and higher possibility of being in some pain out there.

As human’s we are all somewhat similar in schedules + timing. Meaning that advanced-amateurs have the same amount of time as the beginners—we’re all working jobs, have responsibilities, lives, etc. So when we ask the weekly mileage question, you’re surprised when someone can double your mileage in a similar amount of weekly hours.

This leads you to thinking that you must run all of your miles faster to max out the mileage for your allotted weekly running. The opposite is true. You need to be slowing your miles down, and think about maxing every heart beat in the time you have. Full dilation and maximizing stroke volume at lower paces. We know this to be true from last week’s “What Zone 2 looks like” article (the advanced runners are running fast, but still in a *very* low heart rate zone).

Most advanced-amateurs top out at around ~10 hours per week, as anything more usually means you run as a job (or don’t have a job at all). On the flip side, the biggest hurdle for beginner runners is obtaining conditioned enough legs to get to ~5 hours per week running.

Getting to ~5 hours a week of pure zone 1-2 work (with some speed sprinkled in) is the gold standard I use when coaching new runners. It’s really where the gains start to compound and you feel breakthroughs. Every hour after 5 hours per week really forces cardiovascular adaptations, and the speed “naturally” gets quicker in that zone 3-4 range.

Here’s an example of an anon I was able to talk to last week who made some changes:

While this anon is generally athletic, and can for sure handle this moderate/light load in the short term, this was his first time reaching 5 hours of running in a week. He was simply running too fast, in the zone 3-4 range, and was experience soreness after his runs. This forced him to even cut a few runs shorter than he had planned.

Moving on to this week, he actually cut his mileage down by ~7 miles, but upped his weekly time on feet.

This actually allowed him to run more, as the slower pace kept him fresh and none of his runs had to be cut short. This is a solid 11% increase of time on feet AND zone 2 week over week, while reducing mileage/impact on the body. Reminder: your body knows time and effort, not pace and mileage! Week 2 is a great start to continue into the 6 hour+ territory of running.

I urge you, at any level you may be at, to start thinking about the golden rule of “increasing volume by 10% week over week” as purely an increase in time, no matter the pace. Your short term goals may be pushed out, but long term this will make you a *much* better runner. No injuries, no lethargy post run, improved running economy, and overall better race results.

The issue and side effect is making time! If you live a stressful life where you currently don’t have the time to run these hours, this may be the needed wake up call.

Food for thought for all you runners out there! Happy Sunday.

-BTR